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Archive:Orin:The Bet
"The Bet " Written 3/24/09 'The Bet' happened automatically, without fail, every third or fourth conversation she had with someone. In the case of the Haughty Warlock, 'The Bet' happened the soon after he followed her out the other side of the inn after she had heckled him for having his demon summoned. He had dismissed the creature, then followed her. “You've made me dispose of my companion, I demand a new one.” Or something like that. That had caused The Bet to trigger. The Bet was a very simple question that defined every sentient being in the universe. 'Does he/she/it/this person/thing/sentient creature want something only when they can't have it?' That was The Bet. Orin had found that the safest answer was 'yes'. Most people wanted what they didn't have- what they couldn't have- and once they got it (if they got it), it was no longer as desirable as they had made it out to be, and usually sooner than later, the item, thing, person, whatever, was discarded. For the warlock, she had bet against herself. 'No', she had thought. A warlock was a being of power- most only became as such in the pursuit of power. They were constantly searching for what they wanted. Something drastic had turned them into what they were, and only the most ferociously driven survived long- they have the drive to obtain their want, a passion not seen elsewhere. The warlock had amused her. His words were sharp, but not entirely malicious. He amused her when they were around other people- engaging in pointless daggered banter that either made those others uneasy, or humored. He continued to amused her when they were alone- his mood changed completely- he became vulnerable, curious, and so delightfully addicted to her conversation, no matter how convoluted with 'stories' of a fictional Haughty Warlock and Priest it became. It had become even more amusing, even after she had told him so blatantly not to, when he had developed some form of affection for her. She had no intention of responding to it, of course, until he Said What He Did. It stopped being amusing, and became one of what Holli referred to as her 'games'. She had never played one of her games using herself as a stake- which made it new. She had never played it with a warlock, which made it dangerous. The combination made it...what she assumed was exciting. She was not wholly disappointed. Only a few days into her game, she had made him tap into the shadow that he had been so desperately suppressing in his conversations with her. The shadow finally had reared its head and said hello. She had -tasted- fear, and her heart beat faster. Whether alone or with others, there was always the stimulating undercurrent of fear in the back of her mind; it was a very real possibility that it was that fear that kept her amused. And now she could almost touch it... But then he overcame his voices before the fear had fully set in, and the fear was quickly displaced by her usual. She had made the voices take over his consciousness. It was, she decided, probably a pinnacle of her heartlessness in that she could only think, 'Can I do it again?' as she sat next to the poor rocking fool, patiently holding his hand as he hid his face from her in shame. It was during that conversation that she realized that she had been wrong. To him, wanting was entirely about not having. Much like the instantaneous occurrences of The Bet, she suddenly decided to test the theory, to either disprove her suspicion or punish herself for being wrong. To test if someone was the type to want and then lose interest, well, it was easy. Simply make them want something so badly that they think they'll never get it, and then suddenly, without any effort from them, just give them what they want. She had already subtly been working on the wanting as her revenge game. She had not envisioned this end to her game. Now for the giving. The easier it was to obtain a thing after despairing at never getting it, the more 'cheapened' it felt to the wanter, and the faster the wanted was discarded. It rankled a little, that it might be her. It must have felt so very easy, indeed. He was unsatisfied, and as The Bet dictated, he wanted more. Her game was ending. “I'm going to go for a while.” He had said. She had heard that line, more or less, once before. It pinched an emotional nerve. She had lost The Bet...and surprisingly, she felt disappointed. Category:Archived Stories